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You may have avoided foreclosure or a delinquency, but do you really understand the terms of your mortgage? For those who didn’t avoid a foreclosure, some blame poor rules, bookkeeping, and recordkeeping for the foreclosure. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) wants to make the fine print and legalese more clear to consumers.
The CFPB is considering rules that would make it easier to manage your mortgage. Monthly statements would be more clear and break down the principal, interest, fees, escrow, and due dates. If your interest rate is about to adjust, you’d be warned of the effective date, future adjustment dates, and alternatives to consider. You’d also be able to avoid expensive insurance that’s charged when your existing insurance appears to have lapsed. If you are near foreclosure, you’d be informed earlier about your options.
Rules are also being considered that would improve your customer service experience with your servicer. That’s the company who handles the customer service, collections, etc. on behalf of the mortgage company. I’ve done stories where payments haven’t been credited to accounts in a timely matter. Under the rules being considered, a payment will be credited on the day it’s received. Homeowners also get frustrated that they can’t get answers when they call customer service. Under the proposed rules, your records would need to be available and up to date. If there’s an error, it would need to be updated quickly.
You’ll be able to weigh in on these proposed rules this summer. They’ll be finalized by early 2013.
Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
